Device and method for playing a card game

ABSTRACT

A device and method for playing a card game is described. The device displays a phrase to indicate that there is money behind a player besides the money on the table and a dollar amount to indicate how much is behind the player. The device itself does not have any monetary value but indicates to the cameras, players, floor man, dealer and the rest of the spectators that a particular player or players has money behind or is waiting on chips. A method of using the device is also disclosed. The device can be displayed at the start of a card game, before a hand is dealt, to indicate when a player has more money behind than the money he or she has on the table.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to playing a card game. More specifically,the invention relates to a device and method for playing a card game inwhich players may require additional funding.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Poker is a well-known card game that is often played in casinos. In apoker game, players place a bet in a central pot based on the value of acard combination (“hand”) in their possession. The player that has thehighest valued hand, or the player that remains after all other playersmake an un-called bet (have “folded”), wins.

Often at cash games played at casinos, there are a given set of rulesfor putting money on the table and taking it off (“table stakes”). Aplayer cannot bet more money than he or she had on the table at thebeginning of that hand and consequently cannot put in more money once ahand is dealt. Thus, if a player bets until he or she is out of chips,he or she is considered all in, and cannot add cash to the bets. Inbetween hands however, a player is free to re-buy or add on so long astheir entire amount does not exceed the maximum buy-in. Table stakeslimit the amount a player can win or lose in the play of a single hand.

Players have the option of purchasing chips from a dealer or a chiprunner. Players will often buy chips from a runner when casinos have alimit as to how much money can be at a table at one time. If chips arepurchased from a chip runner, the dealer announces how much money theplayer “is behind” and the player can take a hand and make bets withthat money as if he had chips. There are no chips on the table toindicate how much money is behind the player.

There are several disadvantages of indicating the amount of “moneybehind” a player in a game by a dealer's announcement. First, theannouncement is made at the beginning of the game and can be easilyforgotten by the players during a hand. For example, during the play ofgame, a player may make a bet based on what money is actually on thetable, not remembering that a player may have more money behind. Theplayer may bet more or less than he or she would have if he or she hadknown that there was more money behind another player. Having anindicator would alleviate the problem of having the player dispute abet, claiming that he or she did not know that another player hadadditional money behind.

Second, during poker it is more advantageous for a player to not speakduring a game, i.e., keep a poker face, to avoid revealing any clues ofthe next move to other players. Having to ask if there is money behindor how much money is behind a player could signal to the other playersthat the player's next move is based on how much money is behind anotherplayer.

Third, announcing the amount of money behind a player once during thebeginning of the game may not be heard by the other players andspectators in a loud casino. Also, the security cameras and floor men ofthe casino have no indication of how much money is behind a player. Thisis disadvantageous for security purposes.

While there are many methods of playing casino card games, no methods inthe prior art disclose a method of playing a card game with a devicethat is displayed at the beginning of a game to indicate the amount ofmoney behind each player that is not on the table. What is needed is adevice and an improved method of playing a card game to indicate to theplayers, spectators, and casino floor men and cameras the amount ofmoney behind each player during a game, if any.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is a device and an improved method for playing a cardgame. In one embodiment, the device for playing a card game in whichplayers can require additional funding has no monetary value. The devicecomprises a display of a phrase indicating that there is money behind atleast one player, and a display of a money value. The money valueindicates an amount of money behind at least one player, whereby atleast one said device can be put on display at a start of a card game toindicate an amount of money behind at least one player. The device canbe a button, disk, chip, a sign, and an electronic means of displayingthe phrase “Money Behind” and “Behind”.

A method of playing a card game involving at least one player is alsodisclosed in which a device having no monetary value, as describedabove, is initially displayed at a start of a card game when a playerhas money behind. The card game continues with placing bets, dealing andcompleting the card game according to conventional rules, whereby thedevice indicates the amount of money behind of at least one playerduring the card game.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top orthogonal view of a device used for playing a card gamein accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a side perspective view of a device used for playing a cardgame in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a device and method for playing a card game inwhich players may require additional funding. The device and method canbe used in any card game in which a dealer lacks sufficient chips at agambling table to fund players' requests for additional chips, or wherea dealer prefers not to deplete his or her reserve of chips to fundplayers' requests for additional chips. More specifically, the inventionincludes a chip or button and a method of using the chip or buttonduring a card game to signify that a certain player has “money behind”and is waiting for his chips. Briefly, having “money behind” means thata player has money in addition to the money already present on a gamingtable. This often occurs when there is a limit as to how much money canbe present on a table at a given time, usually set by a casino's houserules for security reasons.

Non-limiting embodiments of the device 1 are shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Asshown in FIG. 1, the device 1 displays a phrase 2 to indicate that thereis money behind a player. For example, the phrase 2 could be “MoneyBehind” or the word “Behind” followed by a dollar amount 3. The dollaramount 3 displayed on the device 1 indicates the amount of money that isbehind a player. The dollar value 3 could range anywhere from $1.00 tohas high as $100,000 or more, depending on the stakes at a particulartable. The device 1 can be made in different colors to indicatedifferent money values.

The device itself does not have any monetary value but indicates to thecameras, players, floor man, dealer and the rest of the spectators thata particular player or players has money behind and is waiting on chips.The device communicates with the “money behind” phrase 2 that there is“money on the table” even when there are no chips or money physically onthe table and further indicates the amount of money behind a player withits display of a dollar amount 3.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the device 1 can be in the shape of a button,chip or disk, and can be made from different materials, e.g., plastic,wood, etc. The device 1 can resemble a “missed blind” button, a “dealerbutton”, or a “poker chip”, as long as it includes a “money behind”-typephrase 2 and a dollar value 3 on it. The device 1 can also be a sign, anelectronic display, or be in any tangible form that displays that aplayer has “money behind” on or near a gaming table.

A method of using the “money behind” device is also disclosed. Ingeneral, the money behind device will be displayed at the start of acard game, before the players bet and the hand is dealt, to indicatewhen a player has more “money behind” than the money he or she has onthe table. In a preferred embodiment, the device and method can be usedfor playing a poker game.

At cash games played at casinos, there are a given set of rules forputting money on the table and taking it off (“table stakes”). Becausecasinos usually have a limit as to how much money is on the table, theplayers can buy chips from a dealer or a runner. When chips arepurchased from a chip runner, the dealer announces how much money theplayer “is behind” and the player can take a hand and make bets withthat money as if he had chips. In an improved method according to thepresent invention, this announcement is replaced with displaying thedevice of the present invention to indicate the amount of money behind aplayer. The game is then played according to the conventional rules,including steps of having players make initial bets, the dealing of thecards, and completion of the game. If a player with money behind loses ahand, the dealer determines how much money is owed to the winner andcollects that money when the runner arrives and pays the correctplayers.

During a table stakes game, a player may not place more money or casinochips on the table until a new hand is started. Players cannot put inmore money mid-hand. Each player has only the stack started with and themoney behind the stack, if any. A player cannot add to his or her stackafter being dealt a winning hand, which sets a maximum on the amount theplayers can win or lose in a hand.

Because the amount of money a player has on the table is fixed once ahand begins, it is possible that a player will face a bet he or shecannot call in full. In this case, the player goes “all in” andpartially calls the bet with the remaining chips. Going all inguarantees that the player will see the showdown for this hand and havean opportunity to win, but only for the part of the opponents bets werematched. Once action is completed on that round, the dealer creates whatis called a side pot, where all action above and beyond what the all-inplayer had chips for occurs. All future bets on the hand likewise gointo the side pot.

This method can present a problem if there is money behind a player butanother player does not know or forgot about the money behind. Forexample, a player may strategically bet a greater amount than he or shenormally would if it is believed that the other player does not haveenough to match the bet and go all in. This bet would backfire on aplayer that is unaware of any money behind the other player. Having anddisplaying a “money behind” device would alleviate such a problem.

The device and its use during a game provide several additionalimprovements to the typical method of playing poker without the device.The device smooths the progress of the game and provides a clearindication of what is on the table. This allows the game to move fasterand allows everyone to know at any time during the game which playershave money behind them. It prevents the players from asking (beingforced to talk) “How much does he have?” or “How much is he behind?” andeven more so, it will prevent players from claiming that they “did notknow someone was behind in chips” (as mentioned above).

Also, because of the loud environment of casinos, a display of the moneybehind a player would be more beneficial than simply announcing themoney behind since the announcement may not be heard. Lastly, the deviceand method are an improvement for security purposes, because the moneybehind a player is clearly displayed for the casino's cameras and floormen to see.

While the foregoing describes the device and a method of playing a gameusing the device of the present invention, it is understood that thedescription is not intended to limit the invention. On the contrary, itis intended to cover all alternative modifications and equivalents thatmay be included in the spirit and the scope of the invention as definedby the appended claims.

1. A device having no monetary value for playing a card game in whichplayers can require additional funding comprising: a display of a phraseindicating that there is money behind at least one player; and a displayof a money value, wherein the money value indicates an amount of moneybehind at least one player, whereby at least one said device can be puton display at a start of a card game to indicate an amount of moneybehind at least one player.
 2. A method of playing a card game involvingat least one player comprising the steps of: initially displaying adevice having no monetary value at a start of a card game when a playerhas money behind, wherein the device further comprises (1) a display ofa phrase to indicate that there is money behind at least one player and(2) a display of a money value that indicates an amount of money behindat least one player; and placing bets, dealing and completing said cardgame according to conventional rules said card game, whereby said deviceindicates the amount of money behind at least one player during saidcard game.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein said device is selectedfrom a group consisting of a button, disk, chip, a sign, and anelectronic means of display.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein saiddevice is selected from a group consisting of a button, disk, chip, asign, and an electronic means of display.
 5. The device of claim 1,wherein said phrase is selected from a group consisting of “MoneyBehind” and “Behind”.
 6. The method of claim 2, wherein said phrase isselected from a group consisting of “Money Behind” and “Behind”.